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Effects of corridor networks on plant species composition and diversity in an intensive agriculture landscape

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Abstract

The development of modern agriculture has resulted in much homogenization of the landscape consisting of large patches of farmland, so small remnant non-crop habitats especially linear corridors play an important role in the conservation of species and the maintenance of ecosystem functions. However, little attention has been paid to the effects of corridors structural characteristics on the plant species restricted to such habitats. In this study, we selected three types of corridors including ditch, hedgerow and road, and analyzed their structural characteristics. The plant species presented in these corridors were investigated, and the species diversity, abundance and frequency were estimated. Moreover, spatial arrangements of corridors were classified into different types to discuss whether there were significant effects of corridor network on plant distribution. The results show that three types of corridors have different effects on plant species composition and diversity. The one-one combined corridor networks and total network associated by three corridors have more complex structural features than each single type of corridor. However, there is no strong correlation between the corridor networks with their plant species. We suggest that carrying out a pointed vegetation survey at corridor intersections to further test the relationships between structural features of corridor and plants is necessary.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Qian Tang, Guofu Liang & Shengyan Ding

  2. College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Qian Tang, Guofu Liang, Xunling Lu & Shengyan Ding

  3. College of Life Science, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Xunling Lu

Authors
  1. Qian Tang
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  2. Guofu Liang
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  3. Xunling Lu
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  4. Shengyan Ding
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Correspondence to Shengyan Ding.

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Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41071118)

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Tang, Q., Liang, G., Lu, X. et al. Effects of corridor networks on plant species composition and diversity in an intensive agriculture landscape. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 24, 93–103 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-014-0659-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-014-0659-4

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